The cost of policing Sussex in 2014/15 will be on the agenda when Sussex Police and Crime Panel hold its next meeting on Friday, January 24.
Katy Bourne, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, will give the panel details of the force’s budget for the next financial year and the proposed precept that residents will pay.
The Commissioner has held a consultation on a possible 3.6 per-cent increase that would mean an extra £4.95 a year for the average Band D taxpayer.
The Panel is meeting at County Hall, Lewes, and the meeting is open to the public and will also be webcast from 10.30 am.
West Sussex County Councillor Brad Watson OBE, who chairs the Panel, said: “The Panel is responsible for reviewing the Commissioner’s proposed precept and making reports and recommendations. If the Panel do not accept the proposed precept it has a power of veto.
“In the event of a veto the Commissioner must produce a revised precept by February 15. A provisional meeting date of Friday February 21 has been arranged for the Panel to meet to consider a revised precept and make reports to the Commissioner. However, the Panel does not have the power of veto over the revised precept.”
The other main agenda item will be a report from the Commissioner on the arrangements she is making to find a successor to Chief Constable Martin Richards, who recently announced that he will be retiring in March after six years in the post, and a 32-year career in the police.
Brad said: “The proposed appointment will need to be confirmed by the Police and Crime Panel at the appropriate time.”
The Commissioner is also due to present an updated version of the Police and Crime Plan for 2014-2017.
“It promises to be a busy and interesting meeting,” said Brad.
The webcast of the meeting can be found from 10.30am on January 24 at http://www.eastsussex.public-i.tv/core/
You can find out more about the work of the Panel, its membership and download agenda papers at http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/your_council/meetings_and_decision-making/sussex_police_and_crime_panel.aspx